Without Words
by mizutani asuna
Summary: Annabeth's strengths laid in strategy, not interpersonal communication. So when Rachel begins to suspect something between Annabeth and Percy, Annabeth knows she has to do something to put her girlfriend's suspicions to rest. The question is, what? Femslash.


**A/N:** So this is kind of rambly and goes nowhere and I don't really think it's that good. But I've wanted to write this pairing forever, so here is my attempt at it.

**Warnings:** Femslash.

* * *

**Without Words**

Annabeth was curled up in her bunk, reading Game of Thrones. —Or, more accurately, _trying_ to. She couldn't seem to find a comfortable enough position, so she kept fidgeting, unable to fully focus on her book. It seemed the only thing she hadn't tried yet was standing on her head.

There came a chuckle from her right. "Is that a new yoga technique?" Rachel laughed.

Annabeth glared. "I'm trying to read," she complained.

"I can see that," Rachel smirked.

"I thought you had some charity project today? 'Save the Iriomote Wildcat' or something." Annabeth commented, straightening to a more upright position.

Rachel plopped down on her bed next to her. "Cancelled. The storm's supposed to last all day, so we had to postpone the rally."

Annabeth glanced up from her novel. "What storm?"

Rachel laughed again. "The storm that's plaguing the rest of Long Island. You know, the one that's_ passing over Camp Half-Blood because of your magical borders."_

Annabeth blushed, and hit Rachel with her hardcover. "Don't talk down to me! Who am I, Seaweed Brain?"

"Sometimes I wonder. You guys have been spending so much time together lately, it's like you're practically the same person."

"That's just because we're on patrol together!" Annabeth replied, indignant.

Rachel shrugged. "I know," she said, and left it up to Annabeth to deduce what she was getting at. When she didn't, Rachel sighed, reluctant to have mercy. Was this how it was always going to be? Annabeth could be such a pain, an outright human enigma, and if Rachel levied a complaint, Annabeth closed up and refused to talk to her for days.

It was always up to Rachel to be honest and straightforward, because Annabeth wouldn't, and sometimes that meant playing interpreter when Annabeth had a quarrel with one of their friends. And to tell the truth, Rachel was getting sick of it. Why did she always have to be the one initiate everything? Why did their lives have to be on the line before Annabeth would openly show her the slightest bit of affection? She loved Annabeth, but sometimes, she was impossibly frustrating. She knew Annabeth's fatal flaw was pride, but how did that correlate to kissing your girlfriend?

Annabeth cited the excuse that she was cabin counselor, that she didn't want anyone to challenge her intelligence or her right to lead; which she felt they would, if they found out she was sleeping with the Oracle. Cabin Six had a rule that if the cabin counselor was "emotionally compromised", they abdicated their position to the next most capable camper. Having a serious relationship by itself wasn't bad, as long as it was with another demigod. But Rachel was mortal—and not just any mortal, either. She had to be protected; it was a difficult task finding mortals who could host the Oracle.

Annabeth had already been kidnapped once; that was enough of an argument against her caliber by itself. If the other Athenians learnt of her relationship with Rachel, they might accuse her of endangering the Oracle, and she'd be forced to cede her position to Malcolm. Rachel knew how much being head counselor meant to Annabeth, so she'd agreed to keep their relationship a secret. But there were days, like this one, where she wanted to snatch Annabeth's book out of her hand, and hit her upside the head with it.

Annabeth might have, purportedly, been good at reading people, but that didn't mean she was good at understanding them. She was a supremely logical being, with a mind full of facts and whirring with ideas. Annabeth didn't have much patience for trying to decode emotions; she claimed it was the ADHD, but Rachel believed it was more of a perfectionist thing. Annabeth liked to be right, after all. She couldn't stand to admit there was something she didn't know, or understand; she was Rachel's complete opposite in that respect, so Rachel didn't have much tolerance for it.

Rachel came out of her reverie to find that, apparently, Annabeth had been talking at her the whole time.

"What?" she said.

Annabeth huffed, exasperated, and explained that she'd been trying to apologize for neglecting her. Rachel raised her eyebrows, and was about to reply when Annabeth grabbed her by the shirt and kissed her. Rachel was too stunned to react, so she just sat there with Annabeth's mouth pressed against hers, waiting for the blond girl to decide they needed to breathe.

"What?" she repeated when they broke apart.

Annabeth looked angry and embarrassed, like she hadn't planned to do that and now she was regretting it. Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, to explain her sudden impulse, perhaps... But before she could say a word, Rachel had already made up her mind to kiss her back. Neither of them, it seemed, were in the mindset for words.

The first kiss was Annabeth's _I'm sorry_, and the second was Rachel's _I forgive you_. Game of Thrones was on the floor, alongside most of their clothing, when Percy walked in, planning to get Annabeth for their evening patrol. He stared, all thoughts of what he was there for wiped fresh out of his mind.

Finally, he regained his wits and said, "I can... come back later..."

Rachel pressed herself against Annabeth and gave her a deliberately sloppy kiss. "What, never seen a naked girl before?" she teased.

Annabeth blushed, and tried to tug the blankets beneath them upward, so she could cover herself. _"Seaweed Brain!"_ she screamed, picking up her hardcover and throwing it at him. She looked to the ground for more ammunition, and instead found her T-shirt, which she started to reach towards in a vain attempt at modesty. It was one thing to let her girlfriend see her naked, but a _boy?_ If it got out that she used a padded bra, she would _kill_ Percy, whether he was her best friend or not. Just because Rachel didn't mind that she was a B-cup, didn't mean Annabeth wouldn't mind if the entire camp found out. She could hear Drew Tanaka now, mocking her flat chest...

Percy's lip curled up in a mocking grin, and Annabeth just _knew_ the taunting was about to start. She had some quip prepared about how he, Leo, and Piper should start a club for people who admired Jason's ass at every chance, but Rachel beat her to the punch with one about how Percy shouldn't assume everyone was a virgin just because _he_ was one.

Percy just stood there, doing his impression of a tomato for about the next three minutes, before he said, "So... I'll see you on patrol, Annabeth," and walked out.

Annabeth turned to Rachel, but her mind wasn't on sex anymore. She burst out laughing. "Did you just—really—?!"

Rachel got up, swiped the sheets off the bed, and fashioned a makeshift cape out of them. "Thank you, thank you," she bowed. "I could never have out-snarked the Sassmaster if not for the assistance of my lovely girlfriend, the nude Annabeth Chase!"

Annabeth swatted at Rachel, aiming for her elbow but accidentally slapping her butt instead. That sent them over the edge, and they devolved into a cacophony of guffaws.

Fifteen minutes later, when their giddiness had subsided a bit, Annabeth tugged on her T-shirt and blew her fringe out of her face. "I should probably go meet Percy for patrol," she sighed, pulling on her jeans. "I'll catch you later," she said, and gave Rachel a quick kiss on the forehead.

Rachel reciprocated with a kiss on the nose, and gave Annabeth a little wave before throwing herself back onto the wet bed and sighing. All things considered, it had been a productive afternoon. _Now, where are my overalls..._ she thought, and began to search the cabin for her lost clothes.


End file.
